By Mimi Edmunds

Over 100 years ago, the pandemic known as the “Spanish Flu” of 1918, a viral epidemic likely started among WW1 troops in the United States and Europe, swept through Maine causing tens of thousands of deaths. Its rapid spread spawned mobile nursing associations that rose to meet the crisis of an overflow of victims homebound due to the lack of hospital beds.

In Camden the response was the birth of the Camden Area District Nursing Association (CADNA) with the mission of serving the towns of Camden, Rockport, Lincolnville, and Hope (and later Appleton and Union) with nursing services free to people unable to get medical care otherwise.

Judi Lydon, a nurse for the past 37 years, came to Camden from England to work with CADNA 17 years ago. She spoke to West Bay Rotary this past week, giving an update on the organization in the wake of the most recent pandemic. Today CADNA continues to provide health care services of taking vital signs, blood pressure readings, blood draws, giving injections, delivering equipment and medicines, bathing, and providing instructions for self-care and medication management. And they continue to serve the chronically ill, those denied service, and adults of all income levels and ages.

The pandemic caused hardships in carrying out their mission of delivering services in person and in distant locations. The organization lost its office space, which had been located at Quarry Hill, so nurses worked out of their cars for five months, carrying charts and equipment around the region. CADNA was the “front of the front line” in getting services to people isolated in their homes. “When nobody was there, we stepped up,” Judi said.

Today Judi can make 10 service trips in a day covering the five towns and a wide radius of miles. She is the sole full-time CADNA employee, supplemented by one part-time nurse and two per diem during the week. CADNA receives no insurance backing, nor Medicare, “freeing us from being governed by bureaucracy,” Judi said. Their funding is community-based and the occasional grant. While they have provided nursing services for free for anyone who needs them, for years they asked for a small fee of $25 but recently raised it to $50 per visit. Still, Judi said, many cannot afford to or simply do not pay for their services.

FMI: https://www.camdendistrictnursing.org/

About West Bay Rotary

West Bay Rotary is celebrating its 38th year of providing “service above self” here in the Midcoast. The club undertakes dozens of community projects as well as fundraising (and “fun-raising”) events, including its annual “Duck Derby,” Chili Challenge, Toboggan Nationals parking, Habitat For Humanity teams, and more. The door for prospective members is always open. The club meets on Thursday mornings from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., currently both in-person and via Zoom, and each meeting features a guest speaker. For more information, go to: www.westbayrotaryofmaine.org.